Floyd Abrams , noted constitutional scholar and attorney for the successful plaintiff in Citizens United, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week to warn Senate Democrats about the dangers of their proposed Political Equality Amendment. The proposed amendment would empower Congress to regulate campaign fundraising and expenditures and limit speech in a “sweepingly broad manner.” Abrams went on to say that, “the notion that democracy would be advanced – saved, ‘restored’ – by limiting speech is nothing but a perversion of the English language.” He observed:

Tea Party Patriots (TPP) has filed an ethics complaint against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for his recent attacks on the Koch brothers. The complaint charges that, “[b]arely a week after Senator Reid began making speeches from the floor of the United States Senate in which he branded the Kochs “un-American,” “dishonest,” “immoral,” and liars . . ., the New York Times reported that Senate Democrats planned a “new” campaign to attack the Kochs.” Senator Reid has said that he would “do everything [he could] . . . to bring attention to those guys.”

We have reported on this blog numerous times that presenting voter ID is not a burden, and voter ID does not create problems for election administration.  Last Tuesday was another example.  Despite having one of the most contested primaries in the country in their Senate primary, Mississippi had no problems with Voter ID

Senate Democrats pushed ahead this week in their effort to revise the First Amendment. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell testifiedagainst the Democrat’s so-called Political Equality Amendment before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday. Senate Republicans on the committee highlighted the multitude of potential devastating impacts this amendment would have on First Amendment free speech protections. As addressed in the previous post, the proposal would vest Congress with the power to regulate campaign fundraising and expenditures in federal campaigns.

The introduction of the so-called Political Equality Amendment marks the first instance in American history where Congress has put forward a serious proposal to roll back a portion of the Bill of Rights, according to former FEC Chairman Don McGahn. By introducing this amendment, Senate Democrats have effectively admitted that what they want to do is unconstitutional: restrict campaign finance dollars. As discussed in a previous post, the proposed amendment empowers Congress to regulate campaign fundraising and spending in federal elections and it gives state legislatures the authority to regulate state races.

In 2010, the District of Colombia abandoned its internet voting system before it was activated after University of Michigan professor Alex Halderman and his students hacked the system and changed the outcome of the mock vote. In response in response to recent publications by the Daily Kos and other progressive online voting advocates, Hans von Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow with The Heritage Foundation, recently published an op-ed criticizing this dangerous trend.

Noted liberal constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe once described the First Amendment as the Constitution’s “most majestic guarantee,” Harry Reid, however, is not impressed.

Former Bolivar, TN City Councilwoman Brenda Woods was recently sentenced for corralling felons to vote for her in the city’s 2009 municipal elections. Woods transported three felons, including two relatives, to the polls to cast votes for her. She used this method for her election to city council and also for her failed mayoral bid.

One emerging axiom in the perpetual war over campaign finance law is those who seek to silence others shout the loudest. No two fit the zeitgeist better than Harry Reid and Campaign Legal Center. The unfortunate irony is both use the very protections enshrined in the Constitution to foster speech as a bludgeon of suppression.

Shaun McCutcheon, the successful plaintiff in McCutcheon v. FEC, wrote a powerful op-ed last week defending the Supreme Court’s decision as Senate Democrats continue to criticize the ruling. Shaun McCutcheon is an Alabama small business owner in the field of electrical engineering who wanted to donate more than the campaign aggregate limits permitted. Those who attend this year’s RNLA Annual Seminar in Las Vegas will have the distinct privilege of hearing Mr. McCutcheon speak in-depth on his experiences.